Newcomer
by Angel-Pie111
Summary: The Vocaloid crew meets a fresh new face in the form of a shy, blue-haired boy. Not everyone is too excited about his arrival, but soon, things will be flipped upside down in the Vocaloid household...
1. Introductions

**A/N: Working on a new story. Might take a bit of a left turn in a while, but just hang on tight. I wasn't done writing, but I was so ready to post this, so you might have to wait a little for the next few chapters. Nevertheless, enjoy.**

* * *

"This is our new friend! Make sure everyone is nice to him, alright?"

Len didn't like him from the very start. While everyone else rushed over to ask questions and introduce themselves, he remained at the back of the group, arms over his chest, indignant. Even when Master gave him a nudge toward the group, he stood stock still, glaring at the blue-haired menace. He'd hiss if the others hadn't been watching him, but he was sure the steely look in his eyes was enough.

"What's your name? I'm Miku!"

Holding her hand out, Miku was met with a bow, which took her a little off guard.

"N-nice to meet you. My name is Kaito."

"Waah! He's so proper!"

Len's annoyance only proved to be doubled once he saw that his sister accepted the stranger. The next few minutes were spent in the kitchen, everyone asking various things about the new Vocaloid that he responded to with a degree of bashfulness. Each laugh he could ellict from one of the others set Len on edge, and the blond finally decided to move up to his room before he was yelling. He wanted to stay as far away from the newcomer as possible, and getting into an argument with him would have only proved counterintuitive.

Besides, the others would only berate him for it. They saw him as an innocent new singer willing to join the group. Only Len saw the true menace underneath it all.

"Kaito is so _cute_!"

Rin burst into the room, trotting over to land on Len's chest and catch him in a bear-hug while she continued to squeal over Kaito. The blond managed to pry his sister off of him and rolled away to face the wall with a huff. Still smiling, she sat on the edge of the bed cross-legged and put a hand on her twin's shoulder.

"You're _jealous_, aren't you?"

"What!?" He turned back to her, jolted up. "I'm not 'jealous'. I just don't like him, ok? He looks like a total jerk..."

"Well you won't know until you finally decide to meet him, right?" She leaned forward to whisper, playfully. "_Spoiler alert_: he's super nice."

"Oh, be quiet. I don't wanna meet him. I'm _not _gonna talk to him."

Rin jumped up, then promptly trotted over to her side of the room, opening a chest of drawers.

"Well whatever. Master will have you singing with him in no time, and you _can't _say no to _him_."

Turning back to face him, she flung a purse over her shoulder.

"And where are _you _going?" Len slumped back into a lying position.

"You don't care."

"Fine, whatever."

"C'mon, lighten up, Len. We were going out for ice cream to celebrate for Kaito."

"Why? He hasn't done anything worth celebrating."

"Yeah, but he loves ice cream. You can come too, if you promise to be nice..."

"_No_. I'm not going anywhere if he's going too."

"Then I guess you won't be leaving the house anymore, 'cause he's one of us now."

With a final overenthusiastic spin, she left the room, only sparing a small wave for Len. He shoved his head into his pillow, feeling the urge to yell once again, but deciding to listen to his music instead.

"I don't need them. They can make friends with him if they want, but I'll be right in the end. I can just _look _at him and tell he's no good."

He managed to drift off to sleep without even noticing, holding on to his pillow and letting his music fuel his dreams. About an hour later, the room door was slowly pushed open, letting the light from the hallway flood in. A shadow loomed across the room, looking eerie as it splayed across the yellow curtains and over Rin's empty bed. When Len shifted, the intruder stopped, but was quickly sneaking forward once more. It settled next to his bed. A hand reached out to Len's shoulder as the blond was waking, and-

"_Aaah!_"

The blond shot up, but, too close to the edge, slipped off of the bed. Just after an adjoining scream ended, his eyes were up in a glare. His heart was pounding in his chest. His rage was only sparked anew. Of _course _it had to be Kaito.

"Is everyone okay?"

Master rushed into the room, accompanied by Gakupo, Rin, and a less-than-worried Miku. With the light switched on, the scene was exposed.

"Kaito just snuck into my room! He was probably trying to steal something..." He started under his breath, "Or maybe kill me in my sleep..."

"What? No! I was just going to ask if you wanted some ice-cream. Rin said you weren't feeling well, so I thought you would feel left out..."

"Kaito," Rin had taken a guilty and simultaneously sympathetic look. "You-didn't have to do that."

"I'm sorry, please don't be upset with me."

"No one is upset, Kaito." Master was the first to respond.

Len, though, was incredulous.

"_I'm_ upset! He just snuck into my room without permission!"

"_Our_ room, you mean." Rin took the time to settle onto her bed. "And I'm sure it won't happen again, Kaito just has to get used to everything."

"So no-one's gonna take my feelings into account? Everyone is on his side 'cause he's new?"

Miku yawned, stopping any possible responses to Len's argument. She'd already been dressed in her pyjamas and seemed absolutely nonplussed with the situation.

"Can we all just get some sleep? We'll feel better in the morning, I know _I_ will, anyway."

"Miku is right," Gakupo chimed in. "Let's all get to bed, okay? We'll talk this out in the morning."

As everyone left, agreeing with the sentiment, Kaito took a moment to turn back to Len and utter a silent apology. The blond only glared back at him as a response.

"Len..." Rin whispered across the room.

"What?"

"Give him a chance."

"A chance to murder me in my sleep? No thank you."

"Whatever, Len."

* * *

**See you next time.  
**


	2. Touching Moments

↺A week had passed, and it still wasn't enough for Len's hatred to fade. The more he was able to avoid the blue-haired menace, the more his feelings could settle into a dull burn that sat at the back of his mind at any given moment. Despite how eager the newcomer seemed to make friends with him, Len was either out of earshot or ignoring him each time he had the chance to speak with the blond. It wasn't until they were at the DIVA set that Len was forced by circumstance to speak to Kaito.

He gagged as the others ogled over his new outfit, rolling his eyes whenever he would again evade their compliments bashfully.

"Len," Miku called over to the blond, and he had to debate looking over at her. "Don't you like Kaito's new outfit? Isn't it cool?"

Len had to admit that he was impressed_—_at least_—_that Kaito managed to get the most self-centered girl in the universe to compliment anyone but herself.

He shrugged. "It's not all that great. Everyone got new clothes, so what?"

"C'mon Len!" Rin was the first to protest his indifference. "Don't be rude!"

"No, it's alright."

Kaito smiled slightly, causing the blond to choke once again. He was going to get diabetes if he stuck around the newcomer for much longer. When that same saccharine smile was sent his way, it took all Len had not to glare in response.

"You look really nice in your new outfit, Len."

"Yeah, whatever..."

"Len," Miku stood akimbo. "The least you could do is thank him for that! Why do you have to be so rude to Kai-chan?"

"_Please_, he doesn't even look that great! Just because he has a new outfit doesn't mean you all have to fawn over him like fangirls or whatever. _I _think the suit looks bad anyway!"

With his anger finally boiling over, Len had spoken his mind in front of everyone-even Kaito. A moment of silence came behind his words as everyone simply stared at the veteran Vocaloid, shocked that he'd spoken out. After another moment, Len turned on his heel and stomped away.

"Um..." Kaito, steadying his voice, turned away from the group. "I'm sorry_—_I'll just..."

Without another word, he rushed off to his dressing room, any attempts to stop him failing. It wasn't an ideal fallout-if such a thing existed, but Len was glad to have finally cleared his chest. He could already imagine the lecture he'd get from Master, not to mention all of the heat he'd get from everyone else. But none of that mattered at the moment. Shutting himself in his dressing room, he simply waited.

...

Len was more than just a bit surprised when no one had come to get him for about an hour, and was taken even more off-guard when it was his sister, who seemingly had no negative comments for him.

"I'm singing with Kamui-sama?"

Rin nodded. "You were supposed to have a duet with Kaito, but he hasn't let anyone into his room, and he still doesn't want to talk to any of us. So, y'know."

She shrugged with a little sigh. Len didn't want to admit it, but he felt a bit guilty hearing that. He hadn't meant to hurt the others' feelings to such an extent, he only wanted to get his point across. Perhaps he was jealous. It would make sense, considering he was the center of attention before all of this began. He didn't want anyone taking his place. After he nodded to her, Rin left the room and shut the door behind herself. He'd made up his mind, begrudgingly so. Apologizing to Kaito was the right thing to do.

When he was sure no one else was around, Len made his way to Kaito's dressing room. He knocked lightly so as not to draw more attention than needed. When there was no answer, Len sighed.

"Um...Kaito?"

Nothing.

"Kaito...I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier...It was really mean of me, and_—_"

He looked around once more.

"_—_I shouldn't have said all those things. I know you mean well and all, it's just..."

"..."

When the door opened, Len looked up from his feet to see Kaito partially peeking out. From what was visible, it looked as though the new Vocaloid's eyes were still red, as though he'd been crying the entire time.

"You can...come in, if you want..."

"Uh...thank you."

Kaito moved aside to allow the blond entrance, then shut the door behind him. He stared at the floor for a moment before he could face Len. It was immediately obvious that Len's guess was correct, based on his eyes, which were still a bit puffy, and the flush across his face. He'd been crying until not too long ago. Len didn't have enough malice within him to want an outcome like that.

"Um, I..." Kaito began, trailing off.

"Did you hear me?"

Kaito looked up at the other.

"I mean, just now, when I was outside. I'm sorry_—__really _sorry, okay? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything, I was just upset. I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that."

"It's fine, really." Kaito tried at a weak smile. "I shouldn't get so upset over little things like this. You don't _have _to like my outfit, right? I..."

"Kaito."

So it wasn't a ploy. It wasn't some kind of trick just to get under Len's skin. The blue-haired Vocaloid was really just that bashful, and almost helplessly so.

"You don't have to apologize, it was _my _fault. I want us to be friends from now on, okay?"

"Do you...really mean that, Len?"

The blond nodded.

"Wow...that's all I really wanted. Maybe we can be _best _friends!"

"Yeah, that would be nice, Kaito."↺

* * *

**Bam chapter two  
**


	3. Sadism

**Told you it would take a left turn**

* * *

"Why...?"

Miku fell to her knees, shocked into a stupor by the sight in front of her. She'd dropped everything,eyes wide, her entire form trembling uncontrollably. The tears poured from her eyes in rivers while her hands clenched desperately at the carpet underneath her. Unable to hold back anymore, a scream ripped from her throat, and her vision went dark, her eyes rolling back into her head.

...

"Meiko-oneechan..."

Rin cried weakly, standing outside of their home as the police rummaged through it. An ambulance had come earlier, wheeling Meiko out on a stretcher before anything else. But they were far too late. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and even without medical training, one could have figured that much. Miku had also been removed, however, she was only unconscious, traumatized at what she'd seen upon finding Meiko's corpse. The twins huddled up around Gakupo, with Kaito close behind.

"Why, why did this have to happen?"

She continued, voice shaking. Gakupo placed a hand on her head, holding his own emotions back to appear strong for the younger Vocaloids. Once Master had dealt with the paramedics and authorities, he came over to the group, crouching to be at eye-level with the twins. His face was lined with grief.

"Miku is going to be alright. But..."

"Meiko," Len began, holding back tears. "She's not...she's..."

"It's alright, Len. It's okay to cry."

Trying again to hold back, Len buried his face in his hands, shaking with silent sobs. Gakupo pulled him closer.

Master stood to speak to Kaito and Gakupo.

"They aren't sure about anything right now, but they suspect that it was a murder. They think the suspect ran when Miku showed up, who knows where they could have gone..."

"This is all so scary..."

Kaito looked over at Miku, trembling in the back of an ambulance as the police tried fruitlessly to speak to her. She only shook her head, eyes wide in terror. Master seemed to be watching the same scene with an unspoken pain. He sighed heavily.

"We'll need to stay somewhere else for the time being. Hopefully they'll finish the investigation soon. I just need to get a few things..."

With permission from the police, Master re-entered their home, disappearing soon after. The night, illuminated in red and blue, was nearly silent aside from the quiet sobs coming from the twins.

...

"Of course you all can stay here. After all of this, I'm sure you'll need some rest."

Luka looked down with pity at the twins as they stood by the door, eyes listless, sore from crying. Even after everyone had been invited in, they seemed to refuse to sit, choosing to stand by each other silently. While everyone was grieving, Kaito seemed bothered by something. He couldn't hear the others calling out to him, too lost in his own mind. He bit his nails nervously. Slowly, he was breaking down.

"If they're still out there...what if they come back? What if they want to hurt everyone else? I don't wanna die...I don't want anyone to die..."

"Kaito," Gakupo stood, stopping his pacing. "No one's going to hurt us, not anymore. We're safe now."

"How do you know?"

Kaito wrapped his arms around himself, nails digging into his arms through the fabric of his coat. Len finally responded to something, looking over to Kaito with dead eyes.

"They got away, right? That means...they aren't done."

"Kaito..." Master began, looking hopeless. His voice expressed just as much. "The authorities will handle everything. For now, we're safe staying with Luka. Please, just...relax."

The blue-haired vocaloid stared for a moment, still shaking. If this had to happen, why now? He was still new to the group, inexperienced, nervous.

Kaito was reluctant to move, but settled into a chair at Master's request. He closed his eyes.

"I understand that this is a lot to take in. Meiko...she's really...gone. It's scary just to think about. But please, feel free to make yourself comfortable while you're here."

After assuring everyone was alright, Luka left to make them tea. Len walked over to Kaito grimly, leaving Rin to stand in the corner alone. He wanted to apologize, to reassure him that nothing like this would ever happen again. But, no matter how much he wanted to speak, no words would come. Instead, it was Kaito who spoke;

"I'm sorry..."


	4. Heavily

**Who's killing who?**

* * *

Neither the doctors nor the nurses could get her to utter even a single word. Alone, she didn't make a sound. Someone had turned the television on earlier, and the murder was all over the news. She sat stock-still, board straight against the back of the hospital bed. Meiko was gone. Killed right in front of her. She couldn't help, couldn't stop it. All she did was scream. She was helpless.

People were speaking by the door, someone came in. She didn't look. She didn't care anymore. What could they want?

"Miku?"

She jolted. Her throat tightened. It was _him_.

"I heard that you wouldn't speak to anyone. Are you a mute now? That would be such a shame, you have a beautiful voice."

She didn't respond, her entire being trembling. How could they have let him in? Didn't they know? No, of course they didn't**—** because she couldn't tell them...

"It's kind of a good thing, though. Now you can't tell anyone what happened; I don't have to kill you just yet."

He came over and sat on the bed, and then began playing with the stray strands of hair along her bangs. She would have screamed if she could find her voice, would have fought if her body permitted her to move, but she was frozen in place absolutely. He hummed slightly as he tortured her.

"They've all left the house, now they're with Luka. Gorgeous Luka...I wonder how she'll sing when I kill her. Meiko had a wonderful voice, and her insides were..."

He smirked.

"Well, you were there. You saw them too."

Miku felt the bile rising in her throat as her stomach turned. She wrenched her eyes shut, but nothing could stop the tears from falling. Gods, she wanted to run.

"Anyway, I think they're all coming to visit you today. Try not to make them upset..."

His hand trailed down her cheek and wrapped around her throat. There wasn't enough force to choke her, but just enough to make her uncomfortable. It was the thought more so than the action that made her panic.

"...Okay?"

It was then that she fell over; unconscious.

...

"I don't want to..."

Kaito stopped outside of the hospital, the rest of the group leaving him by a few steps. They paused, looking back.

"I'm sorry...It's just**—** really scary."

"Kaito..." Rin was wringing her hands, nervous as well. "It'll be okay. She needs to see us**— **_all _of us."

It had been around a week since the incident, and the house was still fairly unsettled, of course. The police were still working on their investigation, keeping Master updated, but also keeping them from going back to their home. Even though Luka had offered them a stay for as long as they needed, they still felt as though they were imposing.

"She can't speak or anything, right? What if she needs help? What if something happens?"

"**—**I'll stay outside with you, Kaito." Len offered, leaving the group. He was just as afraid as Kaito, if not more so. He stood next to him.

"I wanna see her, but..." Len focused on his feet. "It's scary. I don't want anything to happen. Just tell her...I was here."

He couldn't meet the eyes of his friends, but noticed Kaito looking down at him as they stood beside one another. He looked as though he wanted to speak, but couldn't form the words. Master eyed them both carefully. It was understandable that they were nervous about seeing Miku again, and he didn't want to push them into something they didn't want to do, but...

"Len**—**"

"You should go, Len." Kaito interrupted before Master could finish his sentence. He looked around at everyone, then to Len. "Um...she's known you for much longer than me**—** if I don't show up it probably won't even mean anything. But...you're her friend. She needs to see you."

"Kaito...?"

"Please go, Len." Kaito looked down at his feet. He didn't want to argue with Len.

The blond hesitated for a moment.

"...Alright, I'll go... if you think that's best..."

He looked clearly unsure of his decision, but still moved back to his place by Rin. As the group vanished into the hospital doors, Kaito wrung his hands nervously. He looked down, face hidden by his bangs.

"I'll wait for everyone. I'll be good..."


End file.
